


Telltale

by DramaticalHearts (kusokawaii)



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Discord: The Kingdom of Shipping (Dr. STONE), First Crush, Flirting, Heartbeats, M/M, Medical School, Teacher-Student Relationship, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26423023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kusokawaii/pseuds/DramaticalHearts
Summary: Senku hadneverhad a crush on a teacher before, often seeing himself above most of them, studying far above his current grade level. But Professor Xeno… was different. The sharpness of his intellect and wit matched Senku’s own, and he carried himself with such an elegant grace, it was difficult to keep his eyes off of him for long.Senku hadnoidea how to deal with it. So like his other difficult-to-deal-with emotions, he keeps it stuffed down.But sometimes his professor made that very,veryhard.[Med school AU]
Relationships: Ishigami Senkuu/Dr. Xeno
Comments: 1
Kudos: 38





	Telltale

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am again, bringing a new XenoSen~  
> This fic was inspired by [this fanart!](https://twitter.com/EEeasyFox/status/1300713413094436864)  
> The title comes from the short story "The Tell-tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe. You'll soon find out why :3
> 
> This was definitely a self-indulgent fic on my part (I started writing it when I was having a bad day), but I hope you'll enjoy it~!  
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated <3

Med school had seemed like such a good idea. No, not because of the money one could make from such a career — Senku found such motivations distasteful. If saving lives and the pursuit of medical science weren’t one’s main motivations, they’d be better off becoming some corporate executive.  
  
Senku had higher aspirations than that. Though they used to be a lot higher — he wanted to pursue a career in space exploration at first. But world events and a close call with a potential pandemic had shifted his priorities; he realized that his talents were needed more on Earth than ever. It certainly helped that he had a natural knack for biochemistry.  
  
All those _would_ add up to be a wise choice of career path. But every week, when Senku steps into a certain classroom with a certain teacher, part of him regrets everything.  
  
Professor Xeno greets the class with a gentle, reserved smile, his pale blond hair swept back oh-so-neatly, his suit coat, dress shirt and tie impeccably neat and clean.  
  
Senku swears the professor’s eyes meet his own for a split second, and heart skips a beat.  
  
_Fuck.  
  
_Senku had _never_ had a crush on a teacher before, often seeing himself above most of them, studying far above his current grade level. But Xeno… was different. The sharpness of his intellect and wit matched Senku’s own, and he carried himself with such an elegant grace, it was difficult to keep his eyes off of him for long.  
  
Senku has _no idea_ how to handle it. Crushes in general were something foreign to him, something _other people_ dealt with, like his childhood friend Taiju. And that big oaf had just gone right up to his crush and confessed to her, the two of them dating from thereon after. The two situations couldn’t have been more different.  
  
So he deals with it like he’s dealt with many of his other emotions — stuff it down until further notice, and keep it from view.  
  
But sometimes the man made it _so hard.  
  
_“Class, today we’ll start with a demonstration of proper stething technique,” Xeno began, smoothly slipping the stethoscope draped around his neck down and putting the earpieces behind his neck with an audible click. “I’ll ask some freshmen to come down to help demonstrate.”  
  
Xeno began to read the names of Senku’s classmates, and Senku starts to feel relief, until:  
  
“...Mr. Senku Ishigami.”  
  
_...What.  
  
_Senku stands up, and sees Xeno looking at him expectantly.  
  
He walks down to where his other classmates had gathered, his exterior calm but his mind abuzz.  
  
_Why me?! This is day one material, I know it like the back of my hand! He has to know that, right?  
  
_He reaches them, tries to take a calming breath.  
  
_Calm down. He likely called down students with a mix of strengths, so we can learn from each other while teaching everyone else. He doesn’t care about feeling superior to us. Ah…  
  
_“Alright, everyone, find yourselves a partner you feel comfortable with,” Xeno says, addressing the gathered students. “If you change your mind about participating due to discomfort with the partner you end up with, you may sit back down — this will not affect your grade.”  
  
_Whew. Okay, maybe I can just slip away then-  
  
_“Mr. Ishigami will be my partner,” Xeno says, placing a firm hand on Senku’s shoulder. “He will help me demonstrate what we will be doing, and you can follow our lead from there.”  
  
Senku can’t help but stare wide-eyed at Xeno’s ear as he looks out to the other students. _What?!  
  
__No, wait, this makes sense too. I’m at the top of my class, and my reputation precedes me. He knows_ I _don’t need this, but that… I could assist him… Oh…_   
  
Senku breathes, trying hard not to panic. This was all happening so fast. If it were any other of his professors, he wouldn’t have cared, even found it to be a pain in the ass. But Xeno… why did it have to be _him?!  
  
_The other selected students quickly pair up, and it seemed that none of them needed to duck out of the demonstration.  
  
“Perhaps some of you have already learned this, but it never hurts to brush up on the basics, hm?” Xeno says to them with a knowing smile. “Now, whomever in your pair would like to take the lead on this, put on your stethoscope and let’s begin- Ah,” Xeno says, looking to Senku. “Looks like you’ve forgotten yours, Mr. Ishigami.”  
  
_Shit._ In his shock over being picked by Xeno, Senku had forgotten to grab his own from his bag. He lets out a little nervous laugh. “Whoops. I wasn’t exactly expecting to be picked for this, Professor,” he says with a small chuckle.  
  
“No problem,” Xeno replies, unbothered. “I can take the lead. I trust that you know this material well enough, correct?”  
  
He does, but when being scrutinized by those deep dark eyes of Xeno’s, Senku can almost feel his knowledge of this subject slipping away bit by bit. He nods. “Correct. But, as you said, a refresher couldn’t hurt.”  
  
Senku was rewarded with a warm smile from Xeno at that, making his heart flip. Xeno turns to the other students then. “Alright. The first thing that you should do is test to make sure your steth is still working properly. If the tubing has become damaged from frequent wear, it can impair your ability to hear your patient. All you have to do is place the ear tips in your ears,” he demonstrates with his own black stethoscope, “and give the diaphragm a small tap.”  
  
Senku has to hold back a laugh at the flinching reactions of his classmates. He remembered doing the same when he’d gotten his first stethoscope.  
  
“Sorry,” Xeno says with a small chuckle. “It _is_ rather loud when you do that. But that’s how you know it’s working. Make sure any loose parts are tightened as well.”  
  
When the other students finish fiddling with their own steths, Xeno nods, and continues. “Now, in practice you may need to position your patient differently depending on what you need to hear, but for this, a standing position is fine.” He turns to Senku, who attempts an easy smile.  
  
Xeno seems to consider something for a moment, then smiles. “Actually, how about you borrow mine for a moment?” he says, lifting his stethoscope from his shoulders.  
  
_Oh._ Senku breathes, his throat feeling oddly tight, as he reaches up and takes the stethoscope from Xeno’s outstretched hand, his fingers grazing the professor’s for the briefest moment.  
  
As Senku watches Xeno untuck his dress shirt, he swallows.  
  
_Focus!_ He scolds himself. _You’re a scientist! Just focus on the task and evidence before you! Emotions will only get in the way!  
  
_Finishing unbuttoning his shirt, Xeno looks to the other classmates. “As you should already know, direct skin contact is best. But don’t use this as an opportunity to take advantage of your patient’s trust — if any of you feel that that’s happening, say so and I will intervene immediately, and the perpetrator will have their grade impacted.”  
  
_Right, there should be nothing inappropriate about this. Just the pursuit of science,_ Senku thinks, relaxing somewhat. With that, he puts the steth’s ear tips in his ears, trying not to think about them being in Xeno’s not long ago.  
  
“Now, take the larger end, called the diaphragm, and position it at the upper left part of the chest, right around where the fourth, fifth, and sixth ribs meet, as Mr. Ishigami will demonstrate.” Xeno looks to Senku, dark eyes meeting scarlet.  
  
_Alright. Focus. Pretend it’s anyone else._ Senku, dissociating slightly, lifts the diaphragm and places it on Xeno’s chest, pressing into the skin there.  
  
His ears are greeted by a calm, steady heartbeat. _Xeno’s_ heartbeat.  
  
That thought nearly makes Senku lose his composure, but he stills himself, despite the sudden chill he feels go through him. _This is… intimate, isn’t it… Never thought of it like that before...  
  
_Xeno isn’t looking at him, but to the other students. “Feel free to reposition the diaphragm until you locate the area of the heart you want to hear. Try to find where you can hear the closing of the valves clearly. You can use the bell for this as well.”  
  
Senku’s hand moves too, almost automatically, over Xeno’s skin. _There,_ there it was, the place where he could not only hear the deep bass of the _lub_ , but the clear, clean _dub_ that followed. He lifts the head to turn it to the smaller side called the bell — the lower frequency sounds become easier to hear, the focus of the scope narrower now. Senku exhales. No matter where he checked, he could hear no flaw, no turbulence or murmur — it was perfect. _Just like him.  
  
_Senku hears Xeno’s voice reverberate as he instructs the students further. “Be still, and listen closely, to the rhythm and the sound of the valves. The harmonious synchronicity of the ventricles and atria that keeps us all alive… Elegant, isn’t it?”  
  
_Fuck,_ Senku thinks, looking down as he feels his face warming. Coming from anyone else, he surely would have thought that to be eye-roll worthy. But coming from Xeno, it sounded like poetry. _How does he_ do _that?!  
  
_“Make note of any abnormal sounds you hear, and try not to panic if you hear any. Take a count for the heart rate as well.”  
  
Senku’s already counting, as was his default mode. He counts for fifteen seconds, does a quick calculation in his mind, then he frowns slightly. _Sixty-five beats per minute. Damn him for being so calm about this! Does he have any idea how awkward this is?_ If the pounding he felt in his own chest was any indication, his pulse was nowhere near as slow.  
  
Xeno’s dark eyes slid to Senku’s. “Mr. Ishigami? Your findings?”  
  
_Shit! I zoned out!  
  
_Senku keeps his facial expression neutral, and lifts the bell from Xeno’s chest, taking off the ear pieces and setting them on his shoulders. “Sixty-five beats per minute. No abnormalities.”  
  
Xeno scrutinizes him for a second, then smiles. “Very good.”  
  
Xeno moves the demonstration on to listening to the lungs, which Senku finds to be easier to maintain his composure during — again, they sound perfect, as clear as air being blown into an empty glass.  
  
With that done, Senku relaxes, handing the stethoscope back to Xeno. _We’re done, right?  
  
_Xeno takes it from Senku, but pauses.  
  
“Very good, Mr. Ishigami, but you were a bit hesitant,” Xeno says, meeting Senku’s eyes. “Hesitation will stand in the way of correct diagnosis in a patient. Allow me to show everyone how it’s done.”  
  
Senku’s stomach falls. _What.  
  
_Xeno’s fingers touch the front of Senku’s dress shirt. “If I may?”  
  
Senku swallows down his nerves. “Sure,” he says, unbuttoning his shirt. He isn’t about to turn tail and run now, no matter the consequences, if any.  
  
Xeno rubs the ear tips on his shirt before placing them in his ears — _A clean freak, I respect that,_ Senku thinks — turns the head to the larger end, and raises it.  
  
But first, Xeno’s other hand comes up to touch his skin, fingers pressing gently to feel his ribs through it. Then the cold head of the stethoscope follows where his fingertips had been, sliding and pressing gently, his every movement decisive and precise.  
  
Senku’s all too aware of his own heartbeat now, and it will _not_ calm.  
  
_Please don’t say anything, please don’t say anything, please don’t say anything-  
  
_“Your heart rate is elevated. Have you had a bit too much coffee today, Mr. Ishigami?” Xeno says, then looks up at Senku with a small smile. Senku can hear some quiet laughter from the other students.  
  
Senku instantly wishes the ground would open up and eat him, medical degree be damned. He tries to play it cool, but his voice wavers. “Y-yeah, a bit.”   
  
_Real smooth. Even Taiju wouldn’t believe that one.  
  
_Xeno’s dark eyes scrutinize him for a moment. “The redness of your face would suggest otherwise.” His smile widens, turns playful. “Perhaps you have a crush on me.”  
  
A louder laugh went up from the class then; even some of the handpicked students let out a chuckle. Senku instantly wants to die; that way he’d get out of this situation _and_ never have to pay off his student loans.  
  
Instead he attempts a laugh. “Don’t flatter yourself.”  
  
He nearly bites his tongue. Was that too much? Too disrespectful? His bluntness has nearly gotten him in trouble before, but most gave him a pass, even his own father. Being haughty to the teacher he admired though… it felt different somehow. Wrong, even.  
  
Xeno gives him a sharp look. His voice lowered considerably, as he pressed the stethoscope’s diaphragm into his skin. “I suppose you’d be the only one who knows the tale it tells.”  
  
Senku swallows, having no response to that. Sweat prickles at his forehead, him letting Xeno take over, him slowly running the steth head and his fingers over Senku’s skin as he instructed the class, leaving trails that seem to burn in their wake. His heart’s _still_ pounding, leaving Senku feeling raw and exposed before his favorite professor. He can only hope that Xeno brushes this off as not having any particular meaning (and that he doesn’t announce Senku’s current heart rate to the entire class).  
  
When Xeno finishes listening to Senku’s lungs — he had to remember to breathe normally — Xeno claps him on the shoulder. “Thank you for your cooperation. You’ve been a great assistant,” he tells Senku, with a warm smile that reaches his eyes.  
  
_Oh… oh._ Senku smiles back, nodding once, but feeling warm all over from Xeno’s praise. _Okay, dying_ now _would be fine.  
  
_“You all may go back to your seats,” Xeno says, and everyone he had called down began to disperse; Senku quickly buttons up his shirt, relieved that it’s over.  
  
He promptly goes back to his seat, noting with discomfort how _tight_ his pants have become since he was called down. He sits down with a small groan, running his fingers through his hair to hold his forehead in his palm. As soon as the class was over, he’d have to go back to his dorm room to take care of… _this.  
  
_Shifting to ease the pressure in the meantime, Senku has a sinking feeling as he processes what had just happened. That feeling is almost confirmed when Professor Xeno’s eyes meet his own again, him giving Senku a small, private smile.  
  
Did… did Xeno _know_ about Senku’s feelings?  
  
When Xeno looks away, Senku slumps in his chair, cursing to himself in a small whisper.  
  
_“Fuck.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to join the Dr. Stone shipping server on Discord! All ships are welcome!  
> We have lots of events scheduled, RP our fave ships, share headcanons, fanart, fic and more!  
> [Click here to join us~!](https://discord.gg/N7ejy2W)


End file.
